Laguna Beach Uncorked!

On Saturday, we went to Laguna Beach Uncorked at the Pageant of the Masters grounds with HH, Alyssa and Greg. It was FABULOUS!!! It wasn't crowded, the food was delicious and the wine was great. They gave out generous portions and you could go back as many times as you liked. They gave you a pen and little book with all the vendors and room for notes, which was handy for noting which wines and restaurants you liked. You got to keep your wine glass.

Since I was the designated driver and I don't like wine all that much, I feasted on samples from the 25 restaurants and drank the free fiji water. Here is a list of the restaurants that participated:

230 Forest Avenue,The Beach House, Broadway by Amar Santana, Claes Ovation, The Deck,Dizz's As Is, Eva's Caribbean Kitchen, French 75, House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer, Katsuya, K'ya Bistro Bar, Laguna Culinary Arts, Las Brisas,Mosaic Bar & Grille at Montage, Mozambique Steakhouse, Nirvana Grille,Royal Hawaiian, Sapphire Restaurant & Pantry, Splashes Restaurant, Starfish Laguna, Sundried Tomato, Tabu Grill, Three Seventy Common Kitchen + Drink, Tommy Bahama and Watermarc Restaurant.

In no way could I have sampled from every restaurant (though I tried). I was so full by the end that all I could think of was a nap. My absolute favorites were:

K'ya - Lobster Meatball with Truffle Risotto -OMG! So good

Chocolate Peanut Crunch Bars - Delicious!

House of Big Fish and Cold Beer - Lobster Mac and Cheese (Best M&C EVER!)

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding with Coconut Rum Sauce

Montage Mosaic Bar & Grille-Shrimp Ceviche & Gazpacho

Yuzu Gogarashi Macaroons and S'more Shooters - HEAVEN! all of it

The worst thing I had, which I wanted to spit out as soon as I ate it was:

Dizz's As Is- Pate - Yuck (to be fair, I don't like Pate and it looked like a little Pastry)

The participating wineries were: Axel, Beacon Hill, Belasco de Baquedano,Bernardus, Boekenhoutskloof, Chateau Montelena, Domaine Serene,Fairview, Famille Perrin, Frank Family Vineyards, Fuedo Maccari, Hedges Family Estate, La Playa, Louis Michel & Fils, Marqués de Murrieta, Michele Chiarlo, Neil Ellis, Pazo de Barrantes, Penfolds, Retour, Tenute di Nozzole,Thompkin Cellars, Tres Sabores, Vincent Delaporte. Beer tastings provided byCismontane Brewing Company. Saki tastings provided by Ty Ku Sake.

The Handsome Husband found a few wines he liked:

Thompkin Cellars - Couchant (Cabernet Franc/Merlot) - his favorite

Tres Sabores - Por que no (Zinfandel blend) - Alyssa's favorite

Domaine Serene - Rock Block Syrah

He did take one drink of something and pour it right out.

It was a beautiful day, great food, good wine, nice live music and some fun people watching. Tickets are a little expensive, but it benefits CHOC so what the heck. We will definitely go again next year.